Timberwolves agree to deal with Connelly

Tim Connelly is leaving his job as president of basketball operations of the Denver Nuggets for a similar role with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Connelly agreed to the deal on Monday, according to a person familiar with the move who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced.

Connelly steadily built the Nuggets into a perennial playoff contender through draft picks that included twotime NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and point guard Jamal Murray.

Connelly's decision to switch teams inside the Western Conference's Northwest Division was first reported by The Athletic and ESPN. The deal is reportedly for five years and worth more than $40 million. It also includes ownership equity.

In Minnesota, Connelly will oversee a team led by Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves are coming off a 46-win season and their first playoff appearance since 2018. They took the secondseeded Memphis Grizzlies to six games before being eliminated.

Connelly's first opportunity to enhance the promising roster he's inheriting will come in one month at the draft, when the Timberwolves have the 19th overall pick in the first round. They also have three second-round choices.

Towns has two years and more than $69 million remaining on his contract, and if he's an All-NBA selection, he'll be eligible for a max extension. The more pressing matter will be the status of point guard D'Angelo Russell, the No. 3 scorer in the stilldeveloping star trio. He'll be entering the final year of his deal, with a 2022-23 salary of more than $31 million, after another up-and-down season with inconsistency that stretched into the playoff series against the Grizzlies.

The Timberwolves could also use help at the power forward spot, where Jarred Vanderbilt was the primary starter this season. The 23-year-old Vanderbilt averaged 6.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He was brought to the Nuggets by Connelly in a trade in 2018, and then sent to the Timberwolves in a multi-team deal in 2020.

Minnesota shook up its front office right before training camp began last fall when the team fired Gersson Rosas in response to mounting tension around him in the building. Sachin Gupta was promoted to be president of basketball operations in Rosas' place, with the caveat that the position would be evaluated again this summer.

Gupta was well-regarded within the organization for his humble, steady leadership, notably by coach Chris Finch. The franchise is currently in an ownership transition.